Quest for the Hardest Wood in the World 

Don't let it get to you, because people are this way with almost everything. I'm really into super hot peppers and the chili-head community is always in search of a newer hotter highbred, or sauce. Ironically, most of those people can't handle a habanero, but they have to be able to say they've eaten the hottest. Also, like with wood, peppers can have a huge range of heat, even off of the same plant..."duds & demons" I always say. Anyway, chin up and enjoy the grain!

Philippine Magkuno tree four days to cut using diamond tooth saw. To cut the tree, it requires at least four days using a diamond-point saws because of its hardness and high density. It is a durable material used by our ancestors in making the casket of the departed members of the community. The display in the National Museum in Butuan City proves that this wood can outlast everyone and even a civilization for about thousands of years and yet has shown no decay. Our ancestors also utilized it as primary foundation for building houses and poles for the balangay and even used as materials for some novelty items as decoration inside the house.

You threw me off at first but a little in the video in made sense why it is not just a simple answer. Basically people do not know what they are asking when it comes to this question.What is the hardest wood? For what? To know so I can get it and have the strongest wood in the world! for what? Because. Without realizing that hardest does not make the best wood as it starts becoming brittle. Once you understand the qualities of wood then you start to develop a solid common sense for it.

try magkono tree in the philippines ,,,, loggers dont bother with it coz its a waste of time taking it down they call it iron wood too

Thank you for being academically honest in the information you provide instead of falling prey to the copy-and-paste disease.

I live in the Buloke Shire and I work the wood too.It's tough and beautiful as well.I can easily hammer in nails using one of my Buloke hammers

"It's not always as cut-and-dried as you might think." All this disciplined objectivity and punny too? You're a real dyed-in-the wool" scholar though . . . You are a rare find, my friend, even (especially?) among academics.

South American Sorbota, I saw a blunt tool made out of it and they used it to drive nails. It's very dark brown with blueish stripes. The trees a 6' bush plant that grows in cliff's and dry rocky areas. it has a thick scaly bark, with sharp brittle edges, it's also very heavy. The Incas used it for war clubs. Sorbota is very toxic to cut and sand on. A very popular wood for door frames as insects and ants will not walk on exposed Sorbota wood with no bark. Very pretty wood but you cant handle it long with your hands it has to have a wrap if its a spear or handle on a club. The wood turns your skin yellowish, and the color wont wash off. Has a varnish oily smell and is super hard to light on fire.

If humans lived 1000 years, somebody would be growing the showest but hardest trees

Very true. People forget about biological variation. I've just sawn up 11 Azobe sleepers. Some were definitely harder than others and that was just a tiny sample.

I’m in the RU-vid rabbit hole right now.

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It's so good to have people like you in the world - Huge knowledge, and sharing it in an absolutely methodical, easy to use and clear manner, so we can all benefit from it. Thanks so much for doing what you do, I use your website's filter function regularly to compare woods (whilst being aware of all the variation you mention in this video!) and it's just great.

I love people being passionate about their interest, no matter how niche or common it is. Love the video

Thanks for putting together this poster and the wood database. They've been very helpful and a great reference tool.

Just want to THANK YOU for your website. I am new to exotic wood and have found your site to be most valuable. So THANK YOU AGAIN for your efforts. Live long and prosper!

I'm working with some Ekki "ironwood" sleepers right now that are like cutting stone, it's incredible stuff.

We all view the world (reality) through the lense our education and experience. My lens includes a study of statistics. Your explanation of how and why you have chosen the hardest wood species is one element of the basic idea of descriptive statistics. Almost everyone interested in "the truth" could benefit from a basic understanding of descriptive statistics. While there are many good sources, a plainly written but not overly or heavily mathematical version is "Statistics - A New Approach" by W. Allen Wallis and Harry V. Roberts published by The Free Press in 1956. Thanks for sharing your work.

Excellent presentation!

I like your commitment to accuracy and explaining the differences between individual samples. I came here after watching a more sensationalist, cherry picking approach finding to the hardest and softest woods.